Pro-army Sudanese protesters rally outside PM's office

Dozens of pro-army demonstrators in Sudan marched for a third consecutive day in the capital Khartoum Monday, demanding Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok step down, AFP journalists said.

Hamdok, who gathered his cabinet for an "urgent" meeting, has called recent unrest the "worst and most dangerous crisis" of the country's precarious two-year transition since the fall of hardline ruler Omar al-Bashir.

"Down with Hamdok!" the pro-military protesters cried, their demonstration unhindered by security forces.

The protesters demand the dissolution of Sudan's post-dictatorship interim government, which is mired in both political and economic crises.

"The civilian government has failed," said Tahar Fadl al-Mawla, a 52-year-old tribal elder, speaking at a tent erected at the gates of the presidential palace.

"We want a government of soldiers to protect the transition," he added.

A column of protesters marched from there to shout slogans outside Hamdok's office, also in central Khartoum.

The protests come as Sudanese politics reels from divisions among the factions steering the rocky transition since the fall of Bashir, who was ousted by the army in April 2019 in the face of mass protests.

Critics allege the protests are being driven by members of the military and security forces, and involve counter-revolutionary sympathisers with the former regime.

Sudan is run by a Sovereign Council, a military-civilian body that oversees the transition until elections slated for 2023, with the government led by Hamdok, a former UN economist.

The main civilian faction has called for a counter-protest on Thursday.